Bliss Consulting Online Learning Centre Designed and Developed by Bliss Consulting Pty Ltd PO BOX 1135 Camberwell 3124 PH: 03 9889 0179 FAX: 03 9889 0174 Bliss Consulting Pty Ltd 2003 Page 1
Table of Contents Overview...3 Key Features...3 Content...4 How the Online Learning Centre works...4 Technical Specifications...5 User Guide...6 Bliss Consulting Pty Ltd 2003 Page 2
Overview The benefits of keeping employees well trained and up to date with the latest information are well documented and understood. However, busy professionals often simply cannot dedicate the time necessary to participate in their continuing education. Time is often the greatest enemy of effective training. The Online Learning Centre, a self-paced, interactive learning program, conducted at the convenience of the user, designed to show how to conduct effective and efficient legal research on the Internet and developed by lawyers for lawyers, seeks to address this difficult problem. This innovative new training tool consists of a series of individual research tasks allowing the user to conduct only those exercises of their choice, as and when it suits their busy schedules. Each task takes less than a few minutes and once completed the participant is linked to the relevant website to research live online. This allows the user to conduct training at a time of need, rather than attending a time consuming course and often later forgetting how to research when it is most needed. Key Features The Online Learning Centre provides tutorials on how to conduct legal research in all Australian jurisdictions run from the desktop. Features of the Online Learning Centre include: Tutorials designed by lawyers for lawyers Simulation style tasks each of less than a few minutes in duration Tutorials on Case Law and legislation across all Australian jurisdictions A permanent online research support tool, available as often as required Accessible directly from the desktop Completed at the user s convenience Regular updates ensuring all research exercises are performed on current material Compatible with most common web browsers Customisation of research tasks can be constructed according to client specifications Bliss Consulting Pty Ltd 2003 Page 3
Content Over many years of practicing law and providing training programs to the legal profession, Bliss Consulting has become familiar with an extensive range of Internet websites and other electronic resources. With this knowledge we have selected the most useful websites for the Online Learning Centre. The Online Learning Centre provides training support in accessing and researching Australian legislation and Case Law using the free resources available on the Internet. The Online Learning Centre can be customised to add any products and look and feel as clients wish. The Online Learning Centre can also be used as a platform to provide training support for any product or database within an organisation. How the Online Learning Centre works Currently the Online Learning Centre is CD Based, and is downloadable as appropriate directly onto an Intranet web server. The service offers both audio and text instructions assisting the user throughout the entire program. To demonstrate each research task, a legal scenario/question has been developed, such as I want to find High Court cases that refer to section 52 of the Trade Practices Act. The user can select from a wide variety of simulated research tasks, for example: How to find a Commonwealth Act How to find High Court cases that refer to a section of an Act How to find assent and commencement details of a Queensland Act How to find explanatory memorandum for Victorian Bills since 1996 How to print a Case How to find a regulations made under a New South Wales Act To commence their training, the user selects a relevant task from the introduction page and progresses through an interactive, simulated research exercise on a step-by-step basis. At the completion of each task the user is taken live to the research web site whilst the steps remain fresh in their minds. It is a commonly known fact that for trainees to both retain and then apply information when needed can be a difficult process. The Online Learning Centre allows a user to access training tasks at the most convenient time for them, whether that is early morning, late at night or when research is actually to be done. Bliss Consulting Pty Ltd 2003 Page 4
Technical Specifications The Online Learning Centre has been developed using html and java script and requires no plug-ins to operate. The program provides audio instructions but will work without sound with equivalent text instructions if required. The operate effectively, the Online Learning Centre requires the following: Access to the internet Internet Explorer Version 5 (service pack 1) or above CD Rom drive (but is also downloadable onto an Intranet environment if required) Windows Media Player 6.3 or above (for audio which is optional) Bliss Consulting Pty Ltd 2003 Page 5
User Guide 1. Click on the (category) heading to commence, for example: under Legislation select Commonwealth 2. Click on the heading most relevant, for example: Searching and Printing Bliss Consulting Pty Ltd 2003 Page 6
3. Select the task to commence, for example: How to find legislation and other relevant material based on subject 4. Click on How to do a subject based search Introduction to commence the lesson Bliss Consulting Pty Ltd 2003 Page 7
5. Click on next to commence the lesson 6. Follow the instructions to move to the next page (or click on next) Bliss Consulting Pty Ltd 2003 Page 8
7. The final page provides the opportunity to do a research exercise on the relevant web site. Click on next to open the web browser and go live. 8. Conduct live research based on the simulation Bliss Consulting Pty Ltd 2003 Page 9